Validation of The Accu-Chek® Aviva Glucometer for Richardson’s Ground Squirrel, Urocitellus richardsonii - Abstract
The ability to take repeated, in situ blood glucose readings using a hand-held glucometer has considerable utility for researchers. These devices are small, affordable, and impose minimal stress on test subjects, yet their reliability is uncertain. We assessed the precision and accuracy of the Accu-chek® Aviva glucometer in measuring blood glucose concentrations from Richardson’s ground squirrels, Urocitellus richardsonii, by taking repeated Accu-chek® test strip readings and comparing those to readings from Manitoba Agriculture’s Veterinary Diagnostic Services Laboratory VITROS®250 chemistry analyzer. Samples were collected at the Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada from 15 female ground squirrels. Our results show a relatively strong positive correlation between the blood glucose concentrations obtained using the Accu-chek® Aviva glucometer and the VITROS®system, with differences between those falling within the Canadian Diabetes Association bounds of acceptable error. While not significantly different, portable glucometer values were, on
average, 0.852 mmol/L lower, and exhibited roughly twice the range of variation of the VITROS®-derived blood glucose concentrations. We recommend that researchers employing this glucometer in the field conduct a similar validation to optimize the number of test-strip readings taken, and to calibrate their blood glucose measurements relative to those obtained from more accurate lab-based instruments.